Challenging Prejudice
by starkid1directioner
Summary: 'A first year, really' I asked in exasperation. 'I had to get your attention,' he said wrapping an arm around my waist. 'Honestly, Draco,' I sighed. 'Come one. He's just a mud-' he stopped half way as I flinched. Pulling myself out of his arms, I finished his sentence. 'A mud blood.' I turned and walked away from him.


Challenging Prejudice

Walking down the corridor, I stopped as I heard someone call my name. Turning around, I caught sight of my best friend, Luna, as she ran down the corridor.

'Hey Luna,' I said smiling lightly. 'What's the matter?'

'One of the first years is stuck in a tree by the lake,' she said halting besides me.

Groaning internally, I asked,' Malfoy?' She nodded before I turned around and ran towards the lake. I knew that I had found them as soon as I had come across a huddle of students pushing and shoving to get a view of the two groups of students in the middle as two of them glared holes into each other. Malfoy and Potter.

'Put. Him. _Down_,' Potter spat as I managed to push my way to the front of the crowd.

'Make me Scar head,' Malfoy said drawing his own wand

'Stop!' I said making my way in between the two of them. 'Everyone get back to your own lives.'

Slowly, as everyone began to leave, I turned and levitated the first year out of the tree.

'Are you alright?' I asked keeping an eye on the two 'arch enemies' that were looking at each other mutinously. Once I was satisfied that he was fine, I faced the two of them.

'10 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor,' I announced as Potter turned to leave.

As soon as he was out of sight, Draco turned to face me.

'A first year, really?' I asked in exasperation.

'I had to get your attention,' he said wrapping an arm around my waist.

'Honestly, Draco,' I sighed.

'Come one. He's just a mud-' he stopped half way as I flinched.

Pulling myself out of his arms, I finished his sentence. 'A mud blood.' I turned and walked away from him.

As I stepped into our dorm, my eyes zeroed in onto the rose on my bed. I sighed knowing exactly who it was from. This was his way of apologising; gifts. He would never show me or anyone else for that matter how he felt.

Emotions are a weakness. That's what his father drilled into his head.

How had this all started? I thought, picking up the rose, knowing the answer all along.

_I was making my way back to Ravenclaw Tower, after the prefect's rounds, when a hand clamped around my arm, pulling me into an abandoned classroom. I struggled angrily in their grip, my hand instantly drawn to my wand as I met cold grey eyes._

_'Lift the spell,' he commanded his voice cold._

_'What spell?' I asked as his grip held me in place._

_'The one that you cast on me,' he said his hands gripping my arms so tightly that I knew that I was going to have bruises._

_'I didn't cast one,' I protested, staying still in the hopes that his grip would loosen. It didn't._

_'Well who did then?' He asked sarcastically._

_'How would I know?' I asked impatiently. With a sigh, I began to speak. 'The spell would've had side effects. What were they?'_

_'I can't get someone out of my head, he muttered clearly unhappy that he had to admit that._

_'Is this someone a girl?' He nodded. 'Well it sounds like a crush,' I said quietly, looking around for an escape route._

_He stiffened before he murmured,' I'm going to try something.'_

_As he lowered his head towards mine, I caught sight of a steely determination locked in his eyes that I didn't like the look of._

_'Stop it,' I said. 'I don't care if I end up losing my badge Malfoy. I'm going to hex you to-' I was cut off as his lips slanted over mine._

He made so many assumptions, I thought. He assumed that I would always forgive him, that I was alright with keeping us a secret and that I wouldn't feel hurt that Pansy Parkinson was calling herself his girlfriend. He even assumed that I was alright with him asking her out.

'You- _what_?' I asked in disbelief. 'Why Draco?'

'Father wanted me to get a pureblood girlfriend,' he answered shortly.

'I can't do it. I can't be the dirty secret,' I muttered moving to stand up. His hand closed around my wrist.

'Wait-'

'No,' I interrupted. 'I can't be the girlfriend that you choose to keep hidden, Draco. Why don't I make it easier for you?'

He watched me his eyes guarded.

'I'll make sure that you don't need to see the mudblood anymore,' I stated, my voice devoid of any emotion as I pulled my wrist out of his grasp.

As I walked away from him, I wanted more than anything for him to call out my name, for him to stop me. But he didn't.

After all, he was a Malfoy.

It didn't surprise me at all that Luna knew that something was wrong and that I didn't want to speak about it. It hurt too much every time that I saw the two of them together.

But that ended the day that he broke up with her in the middle of the great hall.

'I_ can't do this,' he snapped in the middle of breakfast, ending all chatter in the great hall and drawing everyone's eyes over to him. He pushed Parkinson out of his arms. 'We're done.'_

_'But Drakey-'_

_'Shut up,' he hissed, turning away from her as the entire great hall returned to their breakfast. Slowly, so as not to draw suspicion, his eyes met mine before I, too, looked away._

Since that day, like a true Ravenclaw, I submerged myself into my studies and prefect's duties. It had gotten to the point where I no longer minded if I wrote twice that of the requirement.

I did anything to keep my mind off of startling grey eyes and a killer smirk.

As Luna and I headed towards Ravenclaw Tower, we were stopped in our path.

'Look what we have here,' Parkinson snapped to Draco and his two bodyguards. 'A loony blood traitor and a mudblood.' Out of habit my eyes met his and I was instantly shocked by the pain in his eyes. But it couldn't be. Malfoy's didn't show their emotions.

I snapped my eyes onto Parkinson's hateful ones and drew myself to my full height, pleased that I was a few inches taller than her.

'I know that this'll be hard for you to grasp,' I said sarcastically. 'I am a _muggleborn _which means that somewhere along my family, there was someone of magical blood. You, however, are a pureblood. A product of varying degrees of incest.' I walked round them as Luna followed. Keeping my face blank, I hid the fact that I was acutely aware of the pride shining in his eyes.

'Which probably explains your nose,' I said flashing her a fake smile.

Before I could react she raised her hand to slap me but a pale hand caught her wrist before she could.

'10 points from Slytherin,' Draco said, his eyes glaring into Parkinson's as she struggled futilely in his grip.

'Draco, she's a mud-'

'Enough, Parkinson,' he snapped, throwing her wrist away from him as hurt gathered in her eyes.

Although the other girl wasn't my favourite person, I understood why. It was no secret that she was infatuated with him or that they had grown up together. To him she had always been Pansy, his friend and in her eyes his future wife. But now she was reduced to Parkinson.

Before, I left I met his eyes and sucked in a breath when I saw that they were pleading with mine, calling out to me. That second, I had to make a decision. One that killed me a little inside. I walked away from him.

This was it, I thought looking out into the great hall. The seventh and 'eighth' years last day at Hogwarts. Our last day at home.

I looked out to the sea of people; parents, teachers and students. Smiling, I looked over at my parents who were looking rather befuddled at whatever Mr Lovegood was saying. If I had one guess to make he was probably trying to explain to my muggle parents about nargles and the Quibbler.

As I made my way over to them, someone swept me into their arms, pulling me onto the dance floor in a classic waltz position.

'What-' I looked into Draco's eyes.

'Prefect's dance,' he said pulling me a lot closer than necessary. Keeping my face completely blank, I followed his lead, thankful for the silence.

However, he broke it, his voice urgent. 'Before we leave, I need to know what you feel for me.'

'You already know Draco' I said pulling myself out of his arms as the music ended.

'No,' he said, grabbing my waist and pulling me into his chest. 'I need to know. Do you still feel the same way?' he asked, his eyes relentlessly searching mine as all chatter in the great hall ended. All eyes were set onto me as I stood in the 'Malfoy heir's' arms.

'Stop alright,' I struggled. 'You were the one that never expressed yourself or how he felt-' I trailed off catching sight of the intensity in his eyes.

Slowly, he lifted my chin and kissed me softly. If this was anyone else, it would've been viewed as an unnecessary public display of affection but for him it was different. He was a Malfoy. For him, this meant that he was throwing away all of his prejudices, this was him defying everything he'd been taught and everything that was expected of him. This was him expressing how he felt for a _muggleborn._

I stood on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck as I felt him smile.

He pulled away, resting his forehead on mine for the slightest of seconds.

'Mother, this is my girlfriend.' He assumed so much. Squaring my shoulders I turned to face his mother, expecting nothing less than a fire breathing dragon but was stunned when I saw the warmth in her eyes as she looked at the two of us.

But my eyes moved over to Mr Malfoy whose eyes were burning holes right through me. Instinctively, I began to shrink back but was stopped when I felt Draco wrap his arms, protectively around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

Slowly, as the music restarted, everyone turned away as Mrs Malfoy walked over to me. While she spoke about her secret interest in muggle culture, I felt Draco interlace our fingers together.


End file.
